Brisbane Broncos bosses face salary cap crunch after historic Payne Haas re-signing

The Broncos may have locked down Payne Haas, but the $3.5 million contract extension could have serious salary cap repercussions for his Brisbane teammates.

Ezra Mam, Reece Walsh, Selwyn Cobbo. Picture: NRL Imagery

Ezra Mam has become Brisbane’s key retention target following the re-signing of Payne Haas as the Broncos walk a salary cap tightrope which has thrust the futures of Reece Walsh, Selwyn Cobbo and Kotoni Staggs into the spotlight.

Haas became the latest Broncos player to commit to Kevin Walters’ Red Hill revolution after agreeing to a three-year $3.5 million contract extension on Tuesday.

The NSW Origin and Kangaroos star will become Brisbane’s highest-paid player in history and remain at the Broncos until at least the end of 2026, joining teammates Pat Carrigan (2028), Deine Mariner (2027) and Jesse Arthars (2026) on long-term deals.

However the work hasn’t stopped for Broncos bosses, who are facing a salary cap crunch on the back of Brisbane’s resurgence into NRL title contention.

While the NRL’s salary cap will increase beyond $12 million, the Broncos have a host of big-name stars coming off-contract in the coming two years and face a fight to retain their top players and remain in an NRL premiership window.

Ezra Mam, Reece Walsh and Selwyn Cobbo are all key to ongoing success at Brisbane. Picture: NRL Imagery

Key spine players Adam Reynolds, Billy Walters and Mam are free agents at the end of next season along with backrow trio Kurt Capewell, Jordan Riki and Brendan Piakura.

Rising superstar Walsh’s current deal expires at the end of 2025 along with Cobbo, Staggs and young gun Blake Mozer, who has been touted as Brisbane’s long-term No. 9.

Reynolds is keen to extend his Broncos cameo for a further season and Walters is expected to remain under his father Kevin’s tutelage in Brisbane following an impressive development at hooker.

HE’S THE MAM

But Mam is a man in demand following his stunning rise in Brisbane’s No. 6 jersey.

At only 20, Mam has proven he is a genuine NRL-quality playmaker and could be worth more than double his current $320,000-a-season salary on the open market.

The Broncos have commenced contract upgrade and extension talks with Mam and are hopeful of striking a new deal heading into the NRL finals.

If not, they will push to finalise talks before he can be formally poached by rival clubs for the 2025 season from November 1 this year.

With back-up playmaker Jock Madden re-signing until 2026, the Broncos can solidify their halves stocks by retaining Mam and then shift their focus to the back-row battle.

Brisbane will be looking to lock-in Mam long-term. Picture: NRL Imagery

TOUGHEST CAP CALL

Turning 31 next year, Capewell is facing competition from the rising Piakura (21) while Riki (23) has produced his best NRL season this year. The Broncos nearly lost Piakura to Canterbury in 2021 and can once again expect a fight to retain him.

The Broncos will lose Herbie Farnworth and Tom Flegler to the Dolphins next season and are bracing for more players to depart next year as they juggle growing salaries in a winning team.

But the most difficult balancing act could be yet to come.

Queensland Origin star Walsh has already been touted as a potential $1.5 million fullback in the coming years and is on track to become the NRL’s highest-paid player.

Walsh, 21, isn’t off-contract until the end of the 2025 season, however on a salary worth about $450,000 this year he could seek an earlier upgrade and extension.

Reece Walsh and the Broncos put away the Cowboys 🔥

📺 Watch #NRLCowboysBroncos on ch.502 or stream on Kayo: https://t.co/8Psp5NtDS6
✍️ BLOG: https://t.co/2AeWZ8ggH8
🔢 MATCH CENTRE https://t.co/KPtdnfZHntpic.twitter.com/ghG3O749kR

— Fox League (@FOXNRL) August 5, 2023

Walsh has helped take the Broncos to another level this season with his blistering speed and playmaking nous in the No. 1 jersey and Brisbane will fight tooth-and-nail to retain him.

But Walsh’s impending bumper salary increase will put pressure on the club to retain Cobbo and Staggs if they hang on to their other key pieces of the puzzle.

Staggs is one of the highest-paid centres in the game on a $700,000-a-season deal until the end of 2025.

COBBO HEADACHE

Meanwhile, Cobbo has been touted as a potential fullback long-term – a position he is unlikely to play at the Broncos ahead of Walsh.

Paying wingers more than $500,000 is a sure-fire way to find salary cap trouble and Cobbo may have to leave Brisbane if he wants a bigger payday.

Veteran winger Corey Oates is also facing the prospect of a pay cut to remain a one-club player.

Oates still cuts a popular figure around Broncos HQ. Picture: NRL Imagery

The Broncos only have to look at the Penrith Panthers to see what success costs.

The back-to-back NRL premiers have lost representative stars Matt Burton, Viliame Kikau, Api Koroisau, Stephen Crichton and Spencer Leniu on the back of their dominance.

Flegler and Farnworth are already headed for the exits and they won’t be the last of Brisbane’s rising stars to leave Red Hill for bigger pay days.

The battle for the Broncos is to retain the players most important to the premiership success and surround them with the cattle to get the job done – which may be easier said than done in an increasingly competitive NRL player market.

BRONCOS’ ROSTER CONTRACT STATUS

2023

Jordan Pereira

Logan Bayliss

2024

Ezra Mam

Adam Reynolds

Kurt Capewell

Billy Walters

Brendan Piakura

Delouise Hoeter

Jock Madden

Jordan Riki

Martin Taupau

2025

Selwyn Cobbo

Reece Walsh

Kotoni Staggs

Blake Mozer

Corey Oates*

Fletcher Baker

Cory Paix

Corey Jensen

Kobe Hetherington

Tristan Sailor

Xavier Willison

*Player options for 2024, 2025

2026

Payne Haas

Jesse Arthars

2027

Deine Mariner

2028

Patrick Carrigan

2023 development contracts

Josh Rogers

Tyson Smoothy

Brendan Frei

2024 ins:
Fletcher Baker (Roosters)

2024 outs:

Herbie Farnworth (Dolphins), Tom Flegler (Dolphins), Keenan Palasia (Titans)